Safety guard bumper



.Ahg; 12, 192.0. F m 1,772,906

v SAFETY GUARD BUMPER Filed Decm'fi, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet i 1 4] wag Aug. '12, 1930. F. LUKAN I 1,772,996

SAFETY GUARD BUMPER Filed Dec. 3, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Aug. 12, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. LUKAN, or CLEVELAND, OHIO SAFETY GUARD BUMPER Application filed December a, 1929. Serial 1%. 411,255.

My invention pertains'to a safety guard bumper and more specifically to a safety ati tachment intended for mounting on the front of an automobile, or'other vehicle-which is oped and as evidence state my familiarity with adopted street car'fendersandwlth the following chronological list'of prior patents:

O. G. Clay, No. 1,106,783, of Aug. 11, 1914; WV. 'I Gates, No.-1,121,346of Dec.'15, 1914; A. L. Patterson and AQM. Ferguson, No.

1,125,877 of Jan. 19,1915; R. D. Braddy, No.

"1,154, 17 8, of Sept. 21,1915; H. H. Barr, No. 1,220,930, ofMar. 27,1917 M. Ihnat, No. 1,238,677, of Aug. 28,1917; G.;Halliday, No.

: 1,868,142, of Feb. 8, '1921;T."F. Buck, No.

1,415,519, of May 9, 1922; "RJMayne-Reade andP. J. Quinn, No} 1,437 ,915, of Dec. 5,1922; S. Morgenstein No. 1,448,459,0'f' Mar. 13,

1923; M. Resk, No.-1,459',314,lof June 19,

1923 E. Panza, No. 1,488,551,0f'Api. 1, 192 1;

" H. G. Stump, No; 1,558,411, of Oct. 20, 192 5;

' MePoljaniqNo. 1,575,227, of Marf2, 1926.

Y The objects of my invention are:

' (1) To provide a durable construction adequately'economical of manufacture.

(2)";To provide a device of=the character stated,;which' will normally assume an elevated and substantially vertical position, but

' which on emergency is adapted to be released "j and allowed gravitationally to fall a prede- "termined'distance'and a partthereof to be automatically released in a distinct manner so that it will assume a substantially horizontal position closeto the .eground. V

Itjis to be realized th tthe scope of vention .compreh'ends manyjequivalent, constructions, The showing-f the; drawings 7 and the1particulardescription are .merely specific exemplificationsof a plurality of mechanical embodiments and arrangements.

' vAdverting to the drawings:

igure l-isa side elevationof thefront end of an. automobile showing carried ahead of it a; bumper embodying my invention and in parts thereof.

Figure 2 is a front elevation solely of my bumper in its normal position.

Figure 3-is a top plan viewof Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end view viewed on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 showing certain movable parts after the first step of emergency shift to a lowered position. r I l F igure'6 is a view corresponding to Figures 4: and -'5 showing one movable part after the position.

Figure 7 isan enlarged vertical section on line 7-7 of Figure 3.

Figure 8 illustrates a wiringdiagram of second step of emergencyshift to a horizontal the electric control circuit.

. To the front axle 1 of an automobile chassis I clamp the primary supportin member 2 of myappliance asby means 0% U bolts2. As illustrated in Figure 3, the member 2 is of inverted U-shape to include forwardly extending extremities so that certain other parts of my appliance will be carried ahead of the front wheels. Directing attention to Figure 7, it will be observed that there issecured to each of the forwardly projecting extremities of the support 2, as for instance by screws3, a block t of appropriate hollowed form to include a vertically extending hole 5 -which registers with a hole 2 in one of the forward extremities of the support, and to include also a horizontally extending bore 6 which communicates with the hole 5 and rear end 7, which is Of'SlIlfi-lll' diameter, Loosely mounted in each of the holes 5 is a supporting bar'85adapte'd gravitationally to slide therein and to be held in an elevated position in a manner to be hereinafterexplained. Hinged at9 toieach' of the lower extremities of the two bars 8 is a bumper composed of twoup- ,right members 10 and three spaced steel bands 11, which are secured to'the members 10 in any suitable manner. r A pivot pin '12 extends horizontally across a, hole 13 provided near the top of each of.

. the bars 8 and mounted to swing on each of the pin lZLiS) a Qatch including a forwardly broken lines an alternative positionof certain Ill and upwardly directed hook 14 and also including a rearward projection 15. Each hook 14 projects through a slot 16, near the top of one of the members 10, and is long enough to engage the lower front edge of the upper one of the three bands 11 when the bumper 'is'swaag upwardly tothe position shown in Figures 4 and 7, where its members 10 are juxtaposed to the bars 8 and when also the heavier rear projection 15 has been allowed to swing the hook 14 into its fii nctionating position. The position in which my bumper appears in Figures 4 and 5 is the-one in which it is normally to be held preparatory to re leasing only in the event'of emergency;

.' The'rearjof each bar 8 is provided with a recess 17, which will be horizontally a-lined ,with the bore? when thebar 8 has been slid 'to its elevated position, whereby'th'e forward extremity of one of a pair of elongated armatures 18, whichis slid able in the bore 7, may

occupy a recess 17 as normally urged to such position by'the action of a spring 19, which is located in the bore'6 and which acts against a collar 20'interiorly formed on the armature. The recessional movement of each armature, against the-action of the spring 19, is accomplishedthrough the agency of an electro-magnet 21. The two electro-magnets 21 are part of an electric circuit diagrannnaticallyshown n Figure 8 to comprise grounds 22, leads 23 to and from a switch 24 conveniently located on thesteerin'g wheel and a battery 25'.

Ordinarily, my bumper will be caused to assume the osition shown in full lines in Figure'l, to W 1011 lb'hiLS been normally swung after raising .the rear ends 15 of the catches to'permit the hooks 14 to pass through the slots 16 andafter the springs 19 have been permitted to project the armature extremities into'the recesses 17 by reason of the latter having-been brought into proper alinement uponelevation of the'bars 8 to-their --hold the bars 8in their raised positions and.

upward limit as'prescribed by lower rearward projections 26 on the bumper. I In order to move the bars-8 totheir uppermostposition,

'the i'circuit will have to be closed in order temporarily to hold the forward ends of the armatures from their obstructing positions. When the/switch 24- is-ope'ned, the armatures willbe urged into'the recesses 17 to thereby thegra-vitationally downward swingof rear .ends 1550f the catches would cause the hooks ly'vertical'pos1t1on. IOn emergency, as for instance, when-;col l1s1onw1th a pedestrian 14 to-hold thebumper frame in a-substantia'l- .isimminent,- the driver-will close the "switch "24 thereby,simultaneously retracting both armatures-whereupon' gravity'causes the bars 8 and attached bumperframe'to fall. Near the end of su'ch"fallingmovement, the'rear *ends lfiot the stitches will impinge upon the upper surfaces of the 'blocks' h to"become raised in consequence to the position shown in Figures 5 and 6, whereby the bumper frame is released and due to the jar the latter swings forwardly in a downward direction from the position in which it appears in Figure 5, to the position in which it appears in F igure 6 and also in dotted lines in Figure 1.

I claim: 1. In a safety-guard bumper, the combination with a bumper support, of a bumper adapted for-movement in unison on said support and one also for automatic movement relatively to the other after a predetermined distance of their movement in 111118011.

2. In 'a safetv-gua'rd bumper, the combination with a bumper support, of a bumper,

comprising two upright members slidably "connected'with said support and a guard port, a guard frame pivotally connected with .the lo'wer endsof said members, releasable devices for holding said members 1n an elevated position against the action of gravity and means for locking said members and I guard to each other, saidmeans being adapt "ed automatically to unlock following therelease of saiddevices;

" i '5. In a safety-guard bumper, the combination of a support fixed to the front of a vehicle, a-s-tructure including a bumper and a member having ends which are hinged together,said member being'loosely connected withs'aid support, means for holding said bumper in juxtaposition to said inembenand a locking device subject to release by the driv= er of the'v'ehicle-for holding said member in an elevated position, said means being automatlcally released during the gravitat onal fall ofsaidmember to permit said bumper to swing to asubstantially horizontal position.

6. In a safety-guard bumper, the combination of a support'fixedto' the front of a vehicleff'and provided 'with up 'right guiding holes, "astructu're includinga bumper and tra n ba s. a in d w i a hinged togetheusaid barsfbeing slidably mounted in said: holes respectively, means carried bysaid bars for holding said bumper in" j ux taposition to said bars and locking devices carried by said sappgn and-'subject"to release by the "driver ofthe vehicle fo'r holdin said bars in thei'r' elevated positions in said holes, saidcomprising two pivotally connected parts carried by said support and subject to release by the driver of the vehicle for sustaining said holders in their elevated positions in said holes, said catches being automatically released during the gravitational fall of said holders to permit said bumper to swing to a substantiallv horizontal position. i

8. In a safety-guard bumper, the combination of a support fixed across the front of a vehicle and provided with a pair of spaced Vertically extending holes, a pair of holders slidable in said holes, a bumper having spaced portions of one of its edges hinged to said holders respectively, catches pivotally carried by said holders for holding said bumper in juxtaposition to said holders when the latter are elevated, armatures carried by said support and subject to release by the driver of the vehicle for sustaining said holders in their elevated positions in said holes, said catches being adapted to be automatically released during the gravitational fall of said holders to permit said bumper to swing to a substantially horizontal position and electro-magnets for Withdrawing said armatures upon emergency.

Signed by me this 30th day of November,

FRANK E. LUKAN. 

